No one in ICC has courage to stand upto Srinivasan, FICA boss tells Verma

New Delhi: The COO of Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA) Ian Smith reckons that no one in the ICC has the "courage to stand upto" BCCI president N Srinivasan and ECB chairman Giles Clarke as they cast a "very large shadow" in world cricket.

In a very significant letter written to unrecognized Cricket Association of Bihar secretary Aditya Verma, Smith has informed him that FICA is "working behind the scenes to influence ICC officers to do the right thing" in regards to preventing Srinivasan to become the chairman of the ICC Executive Board.

"We are, of course, working diplomatically behind the scenes to influence ICC officers and executives to do the right thing, but Mr Srinivasan, along with Mr Clarke of the ECB, casts a very large shadow and it appears no-one has the courage to stand up to the power of BCCI and ECB whilst Mr Srinivasan and Mr Clarke remain in de facto control of those Boards," Smith wrote in his letter to Verma.

Smith made it clear that it now all depends on what will be the final verdict of the Supreme Court of India as FICA's chances of success taking legal recourse "is not positive".

"I have taken legal advice at the highest level on what options for legal action are available to FICA in light of the current governance crisis and the news is not positive either in terms of likely success, cost or risk. The consensus is that what you and the Supreme Court of India are doing represents the best course of action," Smith was quoted as saying.